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gunwale

 - 3 dictionary results

gun⋅wale

  [guhn-l]
Use gunwale in a Sentence
–noun Nautical.
1. the upper edge of the side or bulwark of a vessel.
2. the sheer strake of a wooden vessel; the uppermost strake beneath the plank-sheer.
Also, gunnel.

Origin:
1325–75; ME. See gun 1 , wale 1 ; a plank so called because guns were set upon it
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gun·wale also gun·nel   (gŭn'əl)   
n.   Nautical
The upper edge of the side of a vessel.

[So called because guns were mounted on it.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

gunwale 
1466, gonne walle, from gun + wale "plank." Originally a platform on the deck of a ship to support the mounted guns.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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